PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NEW BANK IN ARCHBOLD … A ribbon cutting was held to celebrate the opening of the new Sherwood State Bank location in Archbold. In addition to Sherwood Bank employees, the event was attended by local village officials, chamber of commerce members, and Ohio Representative Jim Hoops.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
Sherwood State Bank has officially opened for business in Archbold. Located at 202 Stryker Street, the new bank is ready to serve local customers at their new branch. To celebrate this occasion, a ribbon cutting was held in partnership with the Archbold Chamber of Commerce.
Numerous representatives from Sherwood State Bank, chamber of commerce members, village officials, and more came to celebrate and welcome the company into Archbold.
Numerous specials have been planned for this month to celebrate as well. These include drawings, grand prizes, loan and deposit rate specials, help with home equity, and even car, CD, and IRA specials.
While this new branch may have just opened, everything leading up to this point has been a long time in the making.
President and CEO Mickey Schwarzbek explained that the bank saw its beginnings in 1945 and was one of the first two banks to receive a new charter from the State of Ohio after the Great Depression, with the Metamora State Bank being the first.
Fast forwarding to the year 2000, the company opened its second location in Defiance. Then in 2001 it opened a new branch in Ridgeville Corners, and then another location in Fayette. Schwarzbek also explained that the bank had been looking to come to Archbold for a while.
Even before entering Fayette, the bank was looking for a way to come to Archbold. When the Huntington Bank closed in Fayette, Sherwood decided to move into Fayette first in order to help fill a need.
“Small towns are our target. We don’t really want to be in big urban areas. Geographically we also want to be within an hour radius to help with logistics,” said Schwarzbek.
He continued with, “Archbold has all the main things that makes a community great. A proud school, post office, good restaurants. All the core things you need in a community are here.”
“We can of course help drive and support the community, but you can’t do that without strong mayors and village administrators, churches, and people who care about the community.”
Mr. Schwarzbek also explained how excited he is for the bank to be a part of the Archbold community. “We are excited to be a part of the community. Through the Ridgeville branch, we have already done a lot of business here. A lot of loans in the past 23 years have been from the Archbold area.”
“It’s also interesting because Archbold is a great community. Growing up in Fairview, Archbold was a rival. The Archbold community has always been strong, and for communities to survive they need a good community bank.”
“We have F&M here and they are a good community bank. However, there is plenty of business here for us all at the end of the day. At the end of the day, we are excited to be a part of the community and to see what we can do to advance it.”